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ver·te·brate (vûrtə-brĭt, -brāt′)
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adj.
1. Having a backbone or spinal column.
2. Of or characteristic of vertebrates or a vertebrate.
n.
Any of numerous chordate animals of the subphylum Vertebrata, characterized by a segmented spinal column and a distinct well-differentiated head. The vertebrates include the fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
[Latin vertebrātus, having joints, from vertebra, vertebra; see VERTEBRA.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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